Research in Public Accountancy

“English accounting practice has been developing for many years, but it has not made any substantial contribution to economic science over its own field of the analysis of the results of industry, although it has practically a monopoly grip of the required data. Accountants have the figures; other people cannot use them and if accountants will not, then we get nothing; economics continues its abstract declarations and business blunders on by individual instinct.” This ringing challenge delivered by the late Lord Stamp more than twenty-five years ago has not been fully met by either the English or the American accounting profession. An assessment of progress to date and an analysis of the factors impeding accounting research are the purposes of this paper.